Judy in the Princess and the Pauper
by CartoonNerd12
Summary: She was a princess fulfilling her duty to the kingdom. She was a pauper working as an indenture servant. When the two meet to switch places it comes at a heavy cost.
1. Chapter 1

Princess Judith Hoppson was in the middle of her history lesson along with several of her siblings and she noticed one of her brothers was yawning, not that she blamed him as their tutor literally a boring old goat was droning on and on about the wars and famine that eventually brought mammals, both predator and prey together.

Judith was all too aware of this, as shortly after the famine ended when she was a young child her parents worried their kingdom would suffer another one as the kingdom was mostly made out of farm land and they grew the richest of foods. But the famine had almost destroyed that and her parents knew they had to seek out lands that could help if that was ever to happen again. The problem was, in order to expand with other lands they were going to need to offer more than just a treaty, they would have to offer a daughter.

Turns out, in a neighboring kingdom, they had lost a war with another kingdom and were in desperate need of rebuilding and food supplies for their people. But it was ruled by two foxes that had a young son and her parents were hesitant of offering one of their daughters to be the wife of a fox prince. But once the fox rulers came to visit, they started to get used to them and they knew they had to choose a daughter to be betrothed to the prince.

Judith was seven when she met Prince Nicholas de Wilde and the reason they chose her was because the rest of her sisters were scared to get to know the fox and didn't want to marry him in the future but Judith wasn't scared, she didn't like the idea of being in a arrange marriage but she didn't want to disappoint her parents and she knew how important it was to help the kingdom. But as luck would have it, she and Nicholas actually got along well!

The war on his kingdom had affected him greatly, so he knew how important it was to marry a princess even if she was a bunny. He had a duty to help his people and parents. He didn't like the arrange marriage either but he was willing to put his feelings aside. But as the years went on, the two of them got to be the best of friends, and when Nicholas wasn't visiting her in the summer, they wrote to each other for the other three seasons. They enjoyed each company's so much that they didn't mind the arrange marriage so much anymore.

Judith looked out the window of the classroom to see it was the middle of winter and sighed, wishing summer would come already.

Her sister, Pauline was sitting next to her and noticed her look. She smirked and whispered, "Miss your foxy prince?"

She faced her and smiled, "It's hard to believe that more than fifteen years ago, I didn't care if I'd like him or not so long as our parents got what they needed. But now, I'm glad I ended up being betrothed to him."

"Princess Judith!" She straightened up as the tutor was staring right at her. "Are you paying attention?!"

"Yes, Sir Gruff!"

"I would think the princess who is betrothed and will be marrying her future husband soon would be more interested in learning political affairs as that will be essential for when you will your husband's queen."

"I know that, Sir Gruff… Nicholas and I are well aware of making sure our kingdoms will be well taken care of."

"But they won't be taken care of if the soon-to-be queen can't stop herself from daydreaming!" he said to the rest of the royals, "That will be all for today, you may go." they started getting up to go, but Sir Gruff directly said to Judith, " _You_ however will stay behind and write, 'I will not daydream in class.' Hundred times."

Judith sighed as she sat back down and took out her quill and dap it in the ink bottle and began writing. As she kept writing she thought, _There are days I wish I wasn't a princess…_

* * *

In a small dress shop not far off from the castle, a young rabbit maid was sewing new creations with her friend and fellow employee, a shrew name Fru-Fru. The shrew then asked, "Could you hand me some more blue thread, Sadie?"

"Of course." and the bunny that was gray all over and had a pretty shade of dark blue eyes that were almost purple gave her the thread she needed.

Suddenly they heard a slam of the shop door, and the two cringed at the sound of it as a female hippo stomped into the workroom behind the counter. She saw the creations and scowled.

"Lazy! Just lazy!" she exclaimed. "You haven't even finished!"

Sadie spoke up, "We're going as fast as we can, Madame Hippolyta!"

"I don't want excuses! I want results! Now, I have to go out again, but when I come back I expect every one of these dresses done!" and she stomped back out and slammed the door again.

Sadie and Fru-Fru sighed as they continued sewing, in a few moments, the door opened again and they worried it was their employer, but to their relief it was Gideon Grey, the town baker from next door.

He was carrying a cherry pie as he went to them, "I saw Madame Hippolyta leaving the shop a few minutes ago, she looked mighty furious."

Fru replied, "That's because we haven't finished the dresses she wanted before she came back."

Sadie sadly said, "I wish I could just quit, but I have to repay back the debt my parents made as they had to borrow so much from her, but when the famine came they died, so she had no choice but to take me in because I would have to repay back their debt instead. Except now I also have to repay her for taking me in, not that was a good thing…" she mumbled that last part.

Fru sadly nodded in agreement, "You really had it bad… She was so abusive toward you…"

"And right now, you're the only thing keeping me from falling into darkness." the rabbit gave a small smile to her friend.

Fru also smiled, "It's the least I can do… after all, you took me in after my father died and he was in debt so the house and all the possessions he owed had to be auctioned off. I was wandering the street when you found me and was able to convince Madame Hippolyta to let me work with you so you can repay the debt faster."

Gideon then spoke, "And I also got another way for you to repay the debt faster," he held out the pie, "By eating this to keep your strength up."

Sadie smiled as she took it, "Thank you, Gideon. We didn't eat much breakfast and we're still hungry."

"It's my pleasure, Miss Sadie. I know a thing or two about mistreatment… I was a rotten apple when I was younger. I terrorized a lot of kids who were prey, because I was angry at the fact prey had it better than us predators but that all changed the moment they announced that Princess Judith would marry Prince Nicholas who happens to be fox and the townsfolk started treating everyone better. I stopped being angry and I when I was old enough I got to open my bakery and the best part is my customers aren't scare of me.

"I know I shouldn't take pleasure in the princess and prince marrying against their will, but my life got better all because they got betrothed."

Fru-Fru sadly sighed, "I feel so bad for them. They have to get married without being in love…"

Sadie pondered on this and said, "Maybe they will fall in love later...?"

Gideon shrugged, "Who knows? But I hope they'll find some happiness together, because they've already done some good together even if they don't know it." he started going for the door, "I have to go now, but I'll check on you again when she's gone."

"Thanks again for the pie!" Sadie called out as he left. She set it down in front of Fru-Fru and they were about to eat it when the door busted wide open and Madame Hippolyta stood there looking intimidating.

"You're eating on the job?!" she angrily walked over and seized the pie.

"Hey! That was given to us!" Fru protested.

"And I don't want you getting stains and crumbs on the gowns! So I'll eat this while you keep working!" she moved on to some stairs that led to her apartment above the shop.

Sadie glared on where she went and thought, _It's days like this I wish I wasn't a pauper…_

Little did the princess and pauper knew, their wishes were about to come true…


	2. Chapter 2

Princess Judith woke up one morning, seeing the snow still gently falling down, until her door knocked and in came in Lady Bellwether, a member of her parents' royal court even though Judith can remember Lady Bellwether giving her concerns about the princess's betrothal to Prince Nicholas but her parents were more worried for their kingdom to ignore them.

"Good morning, Your Highness." the sheep greeted.

"Lady Bellwether." Judith nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Sir Gruff tells me that you haven't been paying attention to your lessons recently."

"He's thinks I'm not, but I really am." she moved her ears, "It's hard not to miss a word with these and his monotone voice."

The lady gave a slight chuckle knowing all too well about how boring the goat's lectures were.

Then another knock came at the door and a maid entered holding a platter with an envelope on it. She was a snow leopard as she smiled at the princess and said, "A letter from his royal highness, Prince Nicholas de Wilde."

Judith's face beamed while she didn't notice Bellwether's own face was wincing.

The rabbit wanted to snatch the letter right then and there but she had to keep calm and composed in present company, she told the maid, "Thank you." and took the envelope.

Once the maid was gone, Judith knew she had to wait for Lady Bellwether to leave before she could read the intimate letter.

"Was there anything else you needed?" she asked.

"Just making sure you're all right with this marriage happening, because it's not too late to get out of it if you don't want it."

"But I do _want_ it, Lady Bellwether, and Nicholas and I both know how important this marriage is to our families, so I'm afraid it is too late to get out of it. As long as he doesn't change his mind, the wedding will happen."

"Understood." she curtsied, "Sorry to have bother you, Your Highness." and she left the room.

Once Judith knew she was gone, she wasted no time ripping opening the letter. She sat on her bed and read it.

 _I feel for you Carrots, in fact it didn't surprise me when you wrote about Sir Gruff making you write the same line a hundred times. An old goat like that wants mammals to listen to him even if is he's utterly boring… Trust me when I say you won't be the last rabbit in your family he makes to write lines. Though I am wondering why you daydreamed in the first place you're always so focused. Unless… was it_ me _you dreaming about…?_

Judith shook her head in amusement at how well he was able to guess that even though she could tell by the way he wrote that he was joking around. That's the amazing thing about knowing someone for over fifteen years. Even in a letter she could tell when the fox was teasing her. She kept on reading.

 _As for how my parents and I are doing, I am fine as I can be, but on occasion I have had daydreams about you and end up looking out the window wishing for summer to get here already so I can see you again._

Her heart was beating rapidly as she realized the same thing has happen to her. It made her so happy that Nick has done the same recently while they were miles apart.

 _My father on the other hand… has been unwell but I'm sure it's nothing serious, he'll be better before you know it. My mother is as loving as ever just by taking care of him. Sometimes I envy them. My father has got this wonderful queen and wife by his side and I find myself feeling alone because of that. Summer can't come soon enough! It's maddening!_

She giggled, "I know the feeling…" she looked out the window again. To her it seemed summer was taking forever.

 _But until that time does come, just try harder to pay attention to Sir Gruff and not think about me, even though I know that's an impossible task…_

"Oh, brother…" she smirked.

 _But I know you can do it, Judy… There's no one as focus and clever as you… all the more reason I can't wait for the day we get married… Forever your friend, Nick…_

Judith couldn't contain herself anymore as she landed back on her bed and held the letter close to her chest with a dreamy gaze on her face. Memories of her and Nick were swimming in her head, from their first meeting to the one they had last summer.

* * *

*Seventeen Years Ago*

King Stuart and his queen were in the parlor with their seven-year-old daughter as they waited for King Piberius and Queen Annabelle to bring in their nine-year-old son, Nicholas. The kings and queens had met a few times to discuss the arrange marriage and now the betrotheds were meeting for the first time and the parents of both were a bit nervous.

Once the fox rulers set foot in the room, Judith was trying to see where her future husband was until she spotted him behind his mother's legs, obviously feeling shy. Judith herself stayed closed to her parents but she became intrigued with the fox as she went forward.

The fox queen gently nudged her son to go on. He slowly walked over to the bunny as she extended her paw.

"Hello! I'm Princess Judith." she smiled at him.

Nicholas stared at her until he took her paw, "I'm Prince Nicholas."

"Do you want to play?"

"Um…" he stared back at his parents who urged him to accept, he faced her again, "Okay."

She did a little jump of excitement and she went into a run while pulling him out of the room.

They went out into the royal gardens, as she was showing him around, she noticed her siblings were watching them at nearby windows. Nicholas noticed them too and they duck out of the view. He asked Judith.

"Are they scared of me?"

"Nah, they're just curious. After all it's not every day one of us has to marry a prince and a fox at that."

"Just so you know it wasn't my idea we get married in the future."

"I know that. It was our parents', I'm only getting married to you because I have to, just like you have to get married to me."

"And you're not upset?"

"Maybe a little…" she admitted, "I had always hoped I would find someone to fall in love with, but when I saw how scared my parents were during the famine, I was scared too. We weren't getting much to eat but our people were starving… I knew then I had to help my kingdom. Even if it means getting married to someone I don't love, so be it."

"I guess I'm getting married for my kingdom too… The war was scary, everyone was scared, even my own parents! They tried to be brave for me and our subjects but I heard things I wasn't supposed to… Then we lost the war and lost a lot of our land, but according to my father, if I marry you I can get new land for our people and more. I can tell my mother was upset they had to put me through this but they couldn't see any other way to help our kingdom. I promised to make them proud by going through this."

She smiled, "Well… even if we can't love each other we can always be best friends…"

"You-you want to be friends with me?"

"Of course I do! We are marrying in the future. We should at least get to know each other first!"

"It's just… I never had a friend before…"

She took his paw, "Well, now you do…" she smiled brightly at him.

He returned it with a half heartfelt smile. "Since we're friends now, can I call you… 'Carrots'?"

"Sure! And can I call you, 'Nick'?"

He smiled while nodding.

* * *

*Two Years Later*

Nine-year-old Judith was holding a wooden sword while she and Nicholas were playing in the gardens role playing as a knight and dragon.

"Back you vile dragon!" she said as Nick made a feeble roar. "I will slay thou foul beast!" she made a swooshing sound then Nick pretended to bite her and she made a dramatic scene, "Ah!" she found some raspberries on a bush and smashed them on her dress, "Blood! Blood!" she fell on the ground making gagging noises, then dramatically said, "And… death…" she stuck out her tongue and closed her eyes.

Nick just smirked, "You know you're just milking it…"

She grinned as she got up, "You know usually at this point the dragon would gobble up the knight."

"Not after that show, the dragon would have lost his appetite."

"Very funny." but she smiled nevertheless.

"So what do we do now?"

"I know…" she sneakily said, "Tag! You're it!" and she started running.

"Hey!" he called back and chased after her.

But as he was reaching close to tag her, his claws were close to her face and just as he was about to tap her, she gave out a, "Ow!"

Nick stopped dead his tracks realizing what he had done.

"Carrots… I'm so sorry… I didn't mean…"

She saw what he meant by looking in the garden pond they were near to. She touched her cheek where the scratches were. Then she looked at Nick's frighten face. She knew he didn't mean it. It was an accident.

She gave a small smile, "It's okay… you didn't mean to…"

Nick ended up staring at his claws he didn't think he was capable of hurting anyone especially Judy. He apologized again, "I'm sorry… I didn't want to hurt you…"

She came up to him and held his paws together as she had him look straight into her eyes. "It was an accident… I know you would never hurt me on purpose because you're my friend…"

"I'll be more careful next time, I promise…"

She smiled, "You will. I know you will."

* * *

*Five Years Later*

Fencing swords clashed as the princess and prince dueled on in the castle gymnasium. Captain Bogo of the Guard was watching on as he was their instructor.

"That's a poor form, Prince Nicholas."

"Come on, Captain, I'm doing the best I can!" he called out.

The captain turned to the bunny princess, "Normally, princesses are not allowed to fence, but I believe even a princess should have some way of protecting herself."

"And I am grateful, Captain. But it's hard to concentrate with you talking."

The fox and rabbit kept on dueling not realizing an audience of castle guards started watching them.

"You have got to be getting tired, Carrots."

"What… makes… you… say… that?!" she clashed hard on his sword with each word.

He clashed back hard, "There's no shame in calling it quits."

"Oh, yes there is!" she retorted.

More clashing happened as neither one of them was giving up so soon but they were slowly getting exhausted.

Bogo pointed out, "What you two can do is call it a draw since you're both evenly matched at this point."

One of the guards, Clawhauser was smiling at that statement and said, "They are, aren't they? It's no wonder why everyone in the castle thinks they should get married."

The royals stopped dueling at that moment but their swords were still touching as they stared at each other.

She said, "I will if you will."

"Draw?"

"Draw." she held her paw out and he shook it as they secretly thought they would defeat the other next time.

* * *

*Ten Years Later*

Judy was hiding up in a tree as she saw Nick was walking around making it seem he was looking for something.

"Now where, oh, where could my Carrots have gone…?"

A sheep gardener was passing by when he heard that, "Your carrots, Your Highness? I didn't think you like them."

"Oh, that's where you are wrong, good sir! I like Carrots very much!"

Judy rolled her eyes when she heard that. Making it seem that he was talking about the vegetable when it was she he meant.

The gardener just gave a shrug and went on to finish his chores.

"Well, I have just about looked everywhere else," Nick slumped against the tree that Judy was in, figuring she had to be there, "I guess I'll just sit here and wait until she decides to go to dinner. After all, even a princess needs to eat."

Trapped. If she revealed herself she would lose the game, but if she didn't, she would go hungry. She muttered in annoyance, "Clever fox…"

Nick was feeling smug about the whole thing. He wasn't going to admit defeat and knew that Judy wasn't going to stay up there forever, true, he could just end the game by telling her he found her, but to him this was way more fun.

Judy pondered at how she was going to get out of this, but then she carefully moved to the other side of the tree where she could easily get out without being seen by the fox. She took the leap but then the next thing she knew she was in someone's arms and looked up to see Nick smirking at her.

"Like I was going to let you get away that easily…"

"Argh!" she playfully slapped at him, "You knew I was in there all along!"

"Yes. Yes I did."

"You can put me down now."

"Now why would I want to do that?" he twitched his brow up.

She gave him a warning tone, "Nicholas, I will call my guards…"

He gave a sight chuckle and gently set her down, "Very well, Your Highness. But permit me to do something for you."

She gave a curious expression, "Such as?"

Slowly he revealed an amethyst ring from his pocket that sparkled when it came into view. She gave a surprised gasp.

"Oh, Nick… it's beautiful…"

He smiled at her, "Princess Judith Hoppson, we have been betrothed for about fifteen years now as it was our duty to fulfill our parents' wishes. But over the years, you became my best friend and companion so it would give me great pleasure if I could make the engagement more official. Will you marry me, Judy?"

She was in daze for a moment before shouting out, "Yes!"

That was all he needed to slip the ring on her finger.

* * *

She was in the classroom now and was staring out at the window seeing kids having fun in the snow and wished she could join them instead of being inside listening to Sir Gruff's arithmetic lesson.

"All triangles have three sides, and the relations between these sides are known as ratios. Trigonometry is the branch of mathematics that deals with the properties…"

Judith noticed that her brothers were having fun blowing peas at each other while their tutor was busy writing down the lesson, but once they saw he was turning back they quickly hid the pea shooters.

"Now who can give me one of the three secondary trigonometric ratios? Prince Fredrick?"

"Uh… contagent?"

"Correct. Who can name another?"

Princess Abigail raised her paw and replied, "Secant."

"Correct. And for the last one?"

No one raised their paws.

"Hmm… Princess Judith, perhaps you can give us the last one?"

Judy stiffened, she was so busy watching the window and her brothers she didn't hear what the last ratio was. She sucked in a breath and said, "Cosecant?"

Sir Gruff could only sigh in disappointment, "No, that's incorrect, the last ratio was hypotenuse." he went up to her desk, "I just don't understand how a brilliant mind such as yours, Princess, could be wasting away like this. It's vital you learn this as you will move away to a new kingdom after your wedding so you need all the teachings you can get."

"I'm sorry, Sir Gruff, but when you're apart from your best friend you can't help but feel lonely and want his company."

Abigail piped up, "She's actually quite lucky, Sir Gruff. Back when Mother and Father needed one of us to be part of the arrange marriage to Nicholas, none of us wanted to volunteer but Judith stepped right in. She was going to go through it no matter what and we were sad for her. But now… we realized just how foolish we've been."

Pauline nodded her head, "It's true, the way Nicholas treats Judith every time he comes here is so sweet and amazing, he showers her with attention and gifts that the sisters and I can't help but feel jealous toward her."

Judith was amaze at how her sisters felt about her fiancé. Back when they were young, they didn't want to come near Nick and her while they were playing, but now… her sisters were actually jealous of her!

 _I'll have to remember to write about this to him… how my sisters are finding him quite attractive…_ but then she cringed and quickly thought, _Never mind, he doesn't need to know that…_

This was her betrothed and future husband and she wasn't going to let anyone take him away from her.


	3. Chapter 3

Sadie was busy working on her sewing when Madame Hippolyta came up to her and gave her a list.

"Your errands for today." she stated.

The rabbit stared at the long list and took it while sighing. She gave Fru-Fru a forlorn glance and grabbed for the basket by the door and went out. She passed the bakery just as Gideon was bringing out fresh loaves out of the oven. The smell made Sadie hungry.

She called to him at the door, "I swear Gideon, your baking is the best there is! I can't pass this bakery without getting hungry!"

"While I certainly hope so as it's a great way to get more customers, I don't mean to make you go hungry personally."

"It's alright, besides, I have to get going, Madame Hippolyta wants me done by sunset with the errands."

Gideon huffed, "I really dislike it when she treats you like you're her own slave…"

"Well… in a way I am… As an indenture servant…"

"Sadie, if I had the money, I would buy your freedom this very moment…"

She smiled brightly, "You're a good friend, Gideon…" and she set out.

He set the loaves down as he gloomily said, "Yeah, friend…"

* * *

Sadie had managed to complete all her errands and was starting on heading back but just as she was walking in the town square, a guard passed by her.

The guard was Clawhauser, as he stopped dead in his tracks and gasped at the bunny that passed him, he quickly went to her.

"Your Highness! What are you doing out here?!"

Sadie gave a confused look, "Uh? Your Highness?"

Clawhauser was fretting, "Oh, this is bad… You shouldn't be outside the palace! Come on, I'll take you back!" he grabbed her paw as he rushed her on.

"But you don't understand, I'm not-" she tried telling him but the guard was in a rush that he didn't hear her.

Once they reached the castle gates, Sadie was in awe of the great manor that was the home of the royal family.

Clawhauser said to her, "Come on, let's hurry before anyone realized you were outside." he pushed open the front doors and Sadie couldn't believe her eyes when she saw how everything looked so grand. "Now just to get you up the stairs…"

"Clawhauser!" came a booming voice as a cape buffalo was coming down the hallway.

"Oh, no, it's the Captain! Hurry, Princess, get upstairs!" he pointed up the steps.

Sadie wanted to tell him again he was making a mistake, but a part of her did want to see the palace since it was rare for commoners such as her never have a chance of seeing inside the castle, so she went up the steps.

* * *

Judith sighed as she went about her castle hallway, she was feeling bored. But she reasoned it was better being bored than sitting through another of Sir Gruff's lessons only to be disappointed with her at the end for not giving the correct response. She then heard footsteps coming her way and turned to see a bunny walking around admiring the surroundings.

This bunny wasn't one of her siblings, she wore peasant garment and her fur was messy. Somehow, an outsider had gotten into the palace. She went up to the stranger as she had her back turned and said, "Hello."

The bunny gasped and turned to her in fright and immediately bowed to the floor, saying, "Please! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to look around I just wanted what it was like in here! I promise I'll leave!"

"Take it easy! I'm not going to hurt you!" Judith tried to reassured the poor bunny.

The rabbit was still looking down as she sniffled, "Really?"

Judith smiled, "Really." and offered her paw.

The bunny took it as the princess helped her up but once they got a good look at each other they gasped and both said, "You look just like me!"

Judith quickly looked around and saw no one else was there and whispered to her lookalike, "This way…" she took her paw and made their way to the bedchamber. Judith shut the door and faced her mirror that was not a mirror.

"Now how did you get in?"

"A-a guard brought me here, he kept calling me Your Highness, I didn't understand it but now seeing you, it makes sense."

"Did this guard happen to be a cheetah that seems to worry a lot?"

"Yes!"

"That was Clawhauser, and you're right, he must have mistaken you for me given our… similar appearances…"

"I tried to tell him I wasn't who he thought I was but I never had the chance."

"Has anyone else seen you?"

"No, I was exploring the castle until I came across you."

Judith pondered on this and stared at her lookalike, just then an idea came into her head. It was crazy, but it might just work…

"Um, why are you looking at me that way?"

"First, tell me a few things, what is your name and have you ever wished for a better life?"

The bunny gaped at her before replying, "My name is Sadie, Your Highness, and yes, I do wish for a better life from the one I have now."

She smiled, "How would you like to take my place for awhile?"

Sadie gasped, "Y-your Highness, I couldn't!"

"Don't worry. It'll only be for a short while. I really want to see what's out there, to see the kingdom I was born in before I have to get married and move to a different kingdom."

Sadie questioned, "What's that like by the way? Being betrothed to a fox? Have you ever met each other and like each other?"

Judith's eyes went all dreamy, and said, "If you're worry I won't be happy in my arrange marriage, that's far from the truth. Being around Nicholas de Wilde has made me so happy, in fact, he's my best friend."

Sadie smiled at this, "That's a relief, my friends and I were wondering if you actually felt comfortable being betrothed. My friend, Fru-Fru, was worried you couldn't fall in love because you were force to get married."

"Well… we haven't actually said, 'I love you' to each other but we do care a great deal for the other and we love our families enough to go through with this." then she asked, "What about your life? You did say you want it better than what it is now."

"That's because I'm an indenture servant to Madame Hippolyta whose the owner of the dress shop here in the kingdom." she held out her basket full of goods. "In fact, I was on my way getting back when the guard made the mistake about us. Are you sure you want to switch places? Because my life won't be easy I'll tell you that."

"I'm up for the challenge actually. I want to see how the other half lives, and if you're an indentured servant, I can pay for your freedom."

Sadie gasped again and tears of joy started welling, "Would you really?"

"Of course. You would be doing a great service to your princess. I would happily reward you if you take my place for about a week."

"Oh, Your Highness, yes!"

"And that's another thing. I want you to call me, Judith."

"Judith?"

She nodded.

"Your High- Judith, I would be honored to do this for you."

"Let's get started then…"

In moments, they made the switch by exchanging clothes and Judith helped Sadie get cleaned up while Sadie helped Judith to look messy. Once it was complete, they stared into the large mirror in awe.

"It's like the switch never happened!" Judith said excitedly. Then she went to her vanity and found her amethyst ring and put it on. "This will be the only thing I'll take with me as proof I am the princess so I can get back inside the gates."

"Is that a royal ring of some sort?"

"Close, it's my engagement ring from Nicholas."

"That reminds me, should I be worried about meeting him?"

"You needn't be, because Nicholas comes to see me in the summer, and since it's the middle of winter there's no chance of you coming across him. So nothing can go wrong with this."

"I sure hope so."

"In meantime, I want you to enjoy yourself and live like a princess."

"Well… okay, Your- Judith."

She smiled, "Alright," she picked up Sadie's basket, "Now I go to the dress shop and give this to Madame Hippolyta, correct?"

"Yes, and brace yourself, she's bound to give you more orders when you get there. She's had to raise me ever since my parents die and it hasn't been easy."

"I'll keep that in mind." she extended her paw, "Well, this is where I depart, I'll see you by the end of the week."

Sadie took it and they shook on it.

Judith went to the door checking to make sure the coast was clear and it was. She quickly ran out and down the steps and managed to get pass the gates. Once she knew she was completely out of the castle, she picked it up a clump of snow and threw it excitedly in the air while jumping for joy. She went on the ground and made a snow angel. She felt she was having so fun that she almost forgot she was suppose to be Sadie at the moment and set out for the dress shop.

Sadie looked around the huge bedchamber and sat down on the bed and eventually laid on it. To her it was so soft and warm not like that straw-stuffed bed she had back at the shop. This was a dream come true for her. Princess Judith had given her a great opportunity to live a comfy lifestyle even if it was just for a week but she remembered the princess's promise about rewarding her when she came back. So after one week, she'll finally be free of Madame Hippolyta.


	4. Chapter 4

Sadie wasn't kidding about Madame Hippolyta giving out so many orders. Judith was disgusted of how this hippo could boss around her seamstresses like this but she kept her cool as she had to remind herself that she was undercover at the moment. For the last couple of days, Judith had follow the Madame's orders even if she wasn't the best at sewing and when the hippo was gone she got to know Sadie's friend, Fru-Fru.

The shrew was a very good seamstress and Judith found herself asking for her help a few times which caused her to be confused.

"Sadie, you're a master at this, why do you need my help all of a sudden?"

"Oh, um, I've been really tired these last few days, what with following Madame's orders…"

Fru nodded, "You didn't seem to be yourself when you came back from doing those errands. Madame shouldn't be putting so much on you. There's only so much you can do after all."

Just then a fox came in carrying some loaves of bread. Fru-Fru greeted him.

"Oh, hello, Gideon!"

"Miss Fru-Fru. Sadie."

Judith gave a stammer, "Uh, hello to you, Gideon."

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern, "You don't seem to be yourself."

"Isn't she?" said Fru, "It's all Madame Hippolyta's fault, she's exhausting the poor thing!"

"Well, eat these, I had some leftover from today's business so it should help get you back some of your energy."

Judith took a loaf, "Thank you…"

"And this time, I'm staying put so Madame Hippolyta doesn't do what she did last time by taking that pie I gave you."

"What?!" Judith ended up shouting causing confused expressions on the mammals and she caught herself, "Uh, I mean…"

"Goodness, you really are exhausted…" said Fru-Fru.

Gideon shook his head in frustration, "I hate seeing you like this, Sadie. I wish I could free you from this prison."

 _Aw, that's so sweet… I wish Sadie had told me about knowing a fox too, that's another similarity we seem to have, and apparently he seems quite taken with her. Hopefully, once I pay for her debt, the two of them can get together._

"Thank you, Gideon, but I have a feeling that time will come sooner than you think."

"That does it!" exclaimed Fru, "Once you're done eating, you're going straight to bed! Your exhaustion is causing you to have delusions!"

"I have to agree." Gideon nodded.

Judith couldn't help smiling at the wonderful friends that Sadie had and wondered how she was doing.

* * *

For the last couple of days, Sadie enjoyed palace life. She always got breakfast in bed, maids came in to dress her, in which she was pampered from head to toe. Of course, there were some downsides. She now understood why Judith wanted to get out of the palace. There were lessons and banquets to attend to. In the lessons she had a hard time keeping up because she wasn't a good writer or reader and the other princesses and princes would try to strike up a conversation with her and it felt awkward.

There was another banquet tonight and Lord and Lady Otterton were the guests of honor. Sadie looked down to see the various silverware in front of her and she wasn't sure which spoon, fork, or knife to use to eat. She looked at her temporary sister's plate and tried to copy her.

Pauline noticed this, "Are you alright, Judith? You don't seem to be yourself these days."

"I'm fine." she insisted even though she was fretting of being discovered so soon.

Lady Otterton was sitting next to her and addressed Sadie, "Judith, how are things going between you and Nicholas?"

Sadie worried for a little until she recalled what the princess told her about the fox prince, "Fine, in fact, more than fine! We're doing great!"

"That's wonderful to hear." said the lady.

Lord Otterton then spoke, "It certainly is, given we hear King Piberius has taken ill and it's most likely he will not make it and Nicholas will have to take over soon, which means he will need a queen."

"Oh, that's so awful…" Sadie put her paw over her heart and starting drinking from a gold goblet.

Lord Otterton kept speaking, "Indeed, in fact, we have been asked to send a message to your highnesses."

King Stuart inquired, "Yes?"

"Given the king's frail health, he requests that the marriage between Princess Judith and Prince Nicholas be done by the end of the week. And that the queen and Nicholas are on their way right now."

Sadie had spit out her drink in shock when she heard that and everyone turned to her as she coughed.

The queen questioned, "Sweetie, are you alright?"

"I'm…" she coughed, "fine! I'm just overwhelmed by the news!"

Stuart nodded, "That certainly is understandable, after all we didn't except the marriage to happen this soon."

The queen said, "But with Piberius being gravely ill we must honor his request. Besides, weren't you always saying to us that the wedding couldn't come sooner?"

The king smiled, "And now you got your wish!"

The other princes and princesses were now excited as they talked about the upcoming wedding but Lady Bellwether was the only one that noticed the princess who was getting married to the fox gave a look of horror. And found that to be very interesting.

* * *

Lady Bellwether was down in the dungeons talking to a couple of rams by the name of Douglas and Woolter, and told them what she saw at the banquet.

"Maybe she's got a case of wedding jitters." suggested Douglas.

"I don't think so… that was a look of being appalled. Which is very odd, because just last week Judith told me she wanted this wedding to happen but now that she's getting it, she's feeling upset by it… Something's very odd here and I'm going to find out what it is…" she quickly left.

She walked down the hallway and was about to knock on Princess Judith's bedchamber door when she heard talking and pressed her ear to the door to listen in.

Sadie was pacing in the bedchamber and muttered, "Oh, this is bad, very bad… I can't marry Prince Nicholas! And just imagine the horror on his face of finding out he married a fake! Oh, Princess…" she went to the window, "Please come back… You don't even have to pay me for this anymore, because you need to be here to see your betrothed."

Bellwether's eyes widen in shock and an evil grin spread across her face as she thought, _A fake! She's a fake! Princess Judith must have found a lookalike and then switched places with her! Oh, this is perfect! Just what I need to prove this marriage was wrong from the start!_

When she got back to the dungeons she told her assistants of what she had discovered. They were quite shocked by the news.

"Here's what I need you to do, I want you to go out and find the real princess and bring her here. As long as I know she is kept out of the way, I can proceed with my plan."

"Right, milady." they said and headed out.

* * *

It was the next day, as Sadie was being fitted for an extravagate wedding dress and that caused her to remember the time she sewed wedding dresses for other brides that were happy to be getting married but for her it was unhappiness since she knew nothing about Prince Nicholas and that it was Princess Judith that rightfully deserved to be fitted for this beautiful gown. To make matters worst, Judith's sisters came in gushing at the beautiful gown.

"It's gorgeous!" exclaimed Pauline.

"It is!" agreed Abigail.

"It's the most beautiful gown in the whole world!" said Juliana.

Even the younger sisters boasted how they will be the flower girl for the wedding and that caused a fight that the older sisters had to break up, while Sadie just kept a forced smile on for them.

Meanwhile, on the streets, Judith was asked to draw a bath for Madame Hippolyta and she remembered watching how her maids did it with her so she had some idea of how to draw a bath and but where was she going to get water from? Then she remembered passing a huge snow bank from when she first came to the dress shop.

She was scooping the snow into a pail when her ears picked up the sound of trampling horses, she turned around to see a carriage approaching, that she knew she had to get out of the way and once she did a splash of mud landed on her.

As she wipe it off her face, she saw the carriage from the back and to her horror she recognized who it belong to.

 _Nick?! Here?! No!_

In the carriage, Nicholas and his mother were traveling as fast as they could to get to the palace, and Nick had noticed a small bystander in the road until they moved out of the way when the carriage moved pass them he looked back and could have sworn that was his Carrots he covered in mud. But then decided, _I'm probably so anxious to see her again that I'm starting to see her everywhere._

Judith could feel her knees giving away, as she saw the carriage getting closer to the palace. She was shaking her head in sorrow.

 _Oh, what have I done?_


	5. Chapter 5

She needed to get back into the palace and fast. Nick being here before his summer visit could only mean one thing. His father had taken a turn for the worst and now Nick has to fulfill his promise to marry her. But he can't do that if she wasn't there. Well, technically, she was, or rather her lookalike was. But that was all the more reason she had to get back, so Nick doesn't marry an imposter and Sadie a complete stranger.

When she got back to the dress shop she was a rabbit on a mission, she hid her ring in Sadie's straw bed so she didn't have to worry about giving herself away. But when she started searching a voice said.

"Looking for something?"

She turned back to see Madame Hippolyta holding the tiny ring in her grubby fingers.

"How did you-"

"I was checking your bed for any spare coins you might have kept for yourself since I remembered you doing that when you were young. Only to find this priceless gem… Have you been stealing?! Answer me, girl!"

Judith was feeling herself boiling, she couldn't hold it in anymore she had to reveal the truth, "I didn't steal it, because it is mine! I am Princess Judith Hoppson, and I demand you hand me back that ring!"

"Ha! That's a hoot! You, the princess?! How very funny! But until I get some straight answers, I will be holding on to this until you tell me where you got it from!" she stomped upstairs and Judith heard the slam of a door.

Fru-Fru who had been on table listening in, turned to the rabbit, "Sadie? Wha- why did you say that?"

Judith sighed as she faced the shrew, "I'm sorry I deceived like this but it was the only way I could moved about the kingdom without being detected."

"I-I don't understand…"

"Remember that day Sadie had to run those errands? Well one of my guards made a mistake and thought she was me and she was brought to the palace where we met and we switched places. The real reason I had to ask for your help in the sewing is because I never done that before."

Fru pondered on that and her eyes widen seeing the truth before her and questioned, "So that ring… it really is yours?"

"Yes. It was given to me by my fiancé, Prince Nicholas."

Fru gasped, "That's so sweet! Does that mean you and Nicholas actually love each other?" her eyes were full of hope.

"Well…" she thought this over, she told Sadie they hadn't said the words but the message was clear as day, she loved Nicholas, always had, always will. She told the shrew, "We never said the words, but now… being away from him like this has made me realized how much I have come to love Nicholas de Wilde."

"My princess…" Fru-Fru went into a deep curtsy, "I am at your service. I will do everything I can to help you."

"Thank you, that means so much to me."

* * *

Nicholas and his mother were greeted by the royal Hoppson family upon arrival but Nick noticed that one member of the family was missing, the one he wanted to see so much.

The rabbit queen noticed this and told him, "I'm sure she'll be along any minute."

Pauline commented, "Probably making sure she looks all right before she makes her appearance."

"There she is!" Abigail pointed to the top of the stairs.

Nick saw and he smiled at the sight, his princess was walking down the steps but she looked a little nervous. He slightly frowned at that. Normally Judith would careless about royal protocol and would run straight into his arms.

 _Maybe she's nervous about the wedding? After all, neither of us expected it to be this soon but I thought she would be at least a little excited…_

Sadie approached the fox and for the first time in her life she was grateful for having to befriend Gideon ahead of time, had she never met him she would have been downright scared of meeting Nicholas at this moment.

"Prince Nicholas." she curtsied before him.

Nick was confused by this but he figured that Judith was following some sort of custom for the sake of the marriage that he bowed in return. "Princess Judith."

Stuart then said to them, "I imagine you two will want to do some catching up."

Queen Annabelle added, "Indeed, and while you do that, we'll be making the wedding preparations, all you two have to do is be ready."

Nick smiled, "Of course, isn't that right, Princess?"

Sadie gave a nervous smile as she said, "Um, right…"

Nick was growing suspicious by the minute.

 _Something's not right here…_

* * *

Once Nick and Sadie were alone in the royal galley, they were sitting on a couch looking at a painting in awkward silence.

He couldn't take it anymore and came straight to the point, "Carrots, what's going on?"

"Carrots? Oh! That must be me…" she nervously chuckled

"I'll say that's you, I've been calling you Carrots for the last seventeen years since our betrothal."

"Really? Uh, I mean, how sweet…"

Nick was frowning more and more from Judith's lack of memory.

"Have I upset you in any way?" he questioned, "I know my last letter was vague given my father is ill. But I wanted to surprise you. We knew this day was coming, but for it to finally happen, I couldn't wait to see your face. As a matter of fact, the strangest thing happen to me while I was coming here. On the street, I could have sworn I saw you!"

Sadie's eyes widen, "Did you really?" she nervously giggled.

"Yes, I thought I was going crazy, because I was desperate to see you again."

"Oh, I wouldn't call it crazy…" she smiled uneasily.

"I just realized something, you're not wearing your ring." he pointed to her bare paw.

"Oh, that's because I kept it away so it would be safe." she answered truthfully since the princess was keeping it safe when she first saw it.

"It's just strange that you wouldn't want to wear it now that I'm here." he commented.

"Uh…" she was having a hard time answering that.

Nick looked on seeing how nervous Judith was getting, he just didn't understand it, what happen to his Carrots? It's like she was whole different bunny! The idea made him scoff, that was impossible. But then he looked at her cheek where he remembered having to accidently scratch her when they were young and he knows there were tiny scars at the bottom of her fur. But now it seemed the cheek was full and furry. He frowned at this and said.

"Say Judith, mind if I look at your battle scars?"

"Battle scars? What battle scars?"

"The scars that are on your cheek. Of course."

Sadie gasped as she touched her right cheek and that made Nick scowl.

"The scars are on your other cheek." he stated.

She gasped again as he stood up.

"Lift up your fur please." he said in a hard tone.

Sadie knew she was caught and gave a sad sigh as she lifted up her fur.

Nick examined the cheek. Nothing. No claw mark scars. He stared at this bunny before him. She was not his Carrots, his princess, his Judith. He said with anger in his voice, "Who are you…?"

Sadie gulped as she told him everything.

* * *

Gideon gawked at what Fru-Fru was telling him when she and Judith had came into his bakery that night.

He pointed to Judith, "You mean to tell me that the rabbit standing in front of me is really the Princess Judith?"

The shrew nodded while she was on the counter.

Gideon slowly approached her, "How do I know that for sure?"

She lifted her fur on her cheek, "Nicholas accidently gave me these while we were playing, and I'm sure Sadie never had something like this, did she?"

"Then… it's true…" Gideon slowly bended down and took her paw. "Your Highness, I own you so much, I will do anything to help you get back inside the palace and to get Sadie out."

Judith gave a small smile, "I figured you would…"

He stood up, "You and the Prince are the reason I even have this bakery to begin with. Without your betrothal a lot of us predators would still be facing oppression."

"Really…?" she said in awe, she had always hoped that her marriage to Nicholas would help her kingdom but their betrothal had a lot more of an effect on their subjects then she could possibly imagine. Now she knew it was destiny to marry the fox and it was even better that she had come to love him so much.

"Is Fru-Fru right? Did you two actually fall in love?"

She smiled, "Yes. I believe we have."

"That certainly is a relief. I didn't want you two to be miserable just to make your subjects happy."

"It was our duty to marry, we've always accepted that. We agreed we needed to do it for our kingdoms and that we be friends because of that. What I didn't count on was falling hopelessly in love with him… With every year that had passed I was slowly falling, it wasn't until the switch I made with Sadie is that I realized I have fallen in love and that I need and want him all at once. I can't let him and Sadie get marry when they don't even know each other!"

Fru-Fru exclaimed, "But she can't do that without the ring! Madame Hippolyta took it from her and now… she's stuck outside the palace walls."

Gideon scowled, "I can't take it anymore, Hippolyta has ruined yours and Sadie's life for far too long now, it's time someone stood up to her and that's going to be me…"


End file.
